Blitzer
by DarKazeura
Summary: Harry Potter's cousin has always been strange. Growing up, he was both Harry's best friend and worst enemy, but now, Harry's not sure what to think. Meanwhile, Tidus is just confused and homesick. Final Fantasy X crossover.
1. prologue

**Prologue**

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy 10.

A/N: Okay, forgive me. I am not British, I have never been to England, and I have no idea how to write a convincing British accent. I'll try my best, but forgive me if it doesn't go over well.

* * *

The wind howled loudly through the trees, and water poured from the sky in steady streams not unlike bitter tears. The sudden storm was almost welcomed by the populous as a brief reprieve from the humid heat wave that had hit England the week before, it was the warmest autumn they had had in years. Though due to the severity of the sudden storm, very few were brave enough to venture out of their dry homes. There were puddles of rain at the end of every driveway as the rain was coming down too fast for it to all drain away into the drainage systems. The wind howled like a wolf crying for attention, and the sky was an all encompassing black, even though it was only early evening.

Despite the storm, ten figures stood in the rain outside a large foreboding manor. They were staring at it with an intensity that was disquieting, and it appeared as if they were looking through the house, instead of at it. Of the ten figures, four were male and six were female. As bad as the storm was around them, they were all bone dry, and the storm seemed to be moving around them, instead of touching them. None of the figures even seemed to notice that a storm was raging.

"This can not be." The smallest of the ten figures said. He was little more than a child, and easily the youngest of the group, though even at a glance, it was clear that he was their leader. He was dark skinned and wore dark leggings with a purple hooded tunic that left his face hidden in shadows.

"It is. We failed." One of the five women said. She was short and slender with her blond hair in two braids. She wore a pale orange body suit, with pale yellow boots, and a pale yellow bikini over the body suit. It was obvious that she was related to two of the other women.

"No, we did not fail. To fail is to not try." Another of the women argued. She was noble in looks, with pale skin and silky blue tinted hair. She wore a pale blue flowing dress with a silvery blue headdress covering the majority of her hair.

"Spoken well, Shiva." The tallest of the figures spoke. He was tall and strongly built. He wore light beige leggings, along with an armored blue and beige top. He wore a helmet that covered his face and had a large sword sheathed at his side. Something about him just screamed samurai.

"What to do though?" another of the males asked impatiently. He was tanned with unkempt red hair that fell across his face in uneven spikes. He wore black pants and a dark navy blue armored top with an even darker blue headband over his forehead.

"We should make our dream deal with it." Two of the woman spoke simultaneously. They were clearly the older sisters of the girl in yellow. One was tall and slender and wore a pretty purple and yellow dress, while the other was shorter and heavy set, and wore a purple shirt and black pants. Both girls had the same pale blond hair as their younger sister.

"We just woke up." Argued the boy.

"Indeed. We did. Perhaps we can make him someone else's dream?" the last of the males asked. He was dark haired, with tanned skin, and bright electric blue eyes. He was older than the other nine, and wore a highly decorated dark green priest's tunic, dark leggings and a black hat.

"The idea has merit. Bahamut, what say you?" Another of the women asked. She had short brown hair, pale skin, and wore a flowery pale yellow dress that looked rather plain. Unlike the others, she looked rather frail.

"It certainly does have merit, Valefor. It certainly does." The boy; Bahamut murmured.

"Whose dream would it be?" the last of the women asked softly. She was beautiful, with long shiny black hair, pale skin, and dark, soulful eyes. She wore a low cut blue dress that flowed around her knees gracefully, and had a multitude of golden necklaces adorning her neck.

Bahamut continued staring at the manor in front of them thoughtfully. Finally, he turned to his companions, "Cindy."

The tallest of the three sisters stood at attention, her purple and yellow dress twirled around her at the motion, "Yes?"

"You and your sisters will go find our wayward dream. You must awaken him so he can be ready."

"Of course." Cindy replied easily. "Mindy, Sandy, come."

Mindy, the youngest sister hopped over to her sister's side with a smile, while Sandy, the heavy set sister moved over with a scowl. Once they were side by side, the three sisters vanished in a flash of light.

"Ixion, Valefor, and Anima. Find a host for our dream." Bahamut ordered mere seconds after the three sisters had vanished.

Ixion's electric blue eyes widened and he nodded. Valefor moved to stand next to him, and a moment later, the beautiful woman in the blue dress moved to stand on Ixion's other side.

"Before you go, remember, it has to be someone capable, but not in the spotlight. Also, he has to be compatible. Anima, you are in charge."

The beautiful woman nodded and the three figures vanished in a flash of light.

"And then there were four." The redhead commented.

"What is our mission?" The noble woman asked.

"We need to rescue the prisoners." The Samurai declared.

"He's right." Bahamut agreed. "We are not mere Fayth any longer. We are Aeons. We can interfere, even if we shouldn't. Shiva, Yojimbo, you must follow Ifrit's lead on this one."

Shiva nodded, while Yojimbo just scowled. Ifrit's smile turned positively feral.

"And what of you, Bahamut? What will you do?" Shiva asked curiously.

"I have someone to talk to." Bahamut replied vaguely. He looked between the Manor and the last three of his subordinates, "Remember, do not be seen." He warned before he disappeared in a flash of light.

Shiva looked at the two males and wondered what she had done to deserve being stuck with the two of them. On their own, they were fine, but together, they clashed insufferably. She'd prefer to be stuck with the Magus Sisters', and they were more annoying than running out of MP just before reaching overdrive status.

"Let's go free those prisoners." Ifrit said determinedly.

"Finally. Something we agree on." The samurai agreed acerbically.

Shiva just sighed and followed after the two morons she was stuck with.

* * *

It was beautiful, much like the rest of the afterlife. Everything was always beautiful. The sun nearly always shone, and yet the wilderness was vast and plentiful. Sometimes the contradictions bothered him. His past home, while large and vastly technologically superior, held none of the beauty that now constantly surrounded him, and yet, the world this one was created in the likeness of was full of such pain and sorrow, while his home had been a place of peace and enjoyment. It didn't make sense.

Unimaginable beauty and Sorrow? Or easy and peaceful?

He leaned back on the hill he had been sitting on for the last three days. As far as the eye could see, he was surrounded in fields upon fields of flowers, with streams of the purest water he had ever tasted interconnected throughout. The sun was blinding in the sky, and yet the heat was always pleasant and never unbearable even though there was very rarely any respite.

He was never hungry, and his body felt no need for nourishment or sleep, and yet he was not satisfied. This perfect, peaceful, beautiful place was not where he wanted to be. Not even in the slightest. He wanted to go back to the war torn world he had only known for such a brief stay. The place he had claimed as his own. He wanted to go home.

The light grew behind his closed eyes for a moment, and he heard a polite cough that signaled someone trying to get his attention. He was tempted to just ignore it and let the peace ease him into another long slumber, but he didn't want to seem rude. Rudeness had no place here.

Tidus opened his eyes.

Three faces were peering down at him and old battle instincts reared immediately. He flipped himself into a sideways roll before throwing himself forward to put distance between him and the enemy. His sword appeared in a flash of light and he shifted ever so slightly so that all three women were in his range of attack.

"Be calm." The youngest woman ordered hastily. She held her hands up soothingly as if trying to calm a raging beast.

"I am Cindy." The tallest and eldest of the three said soothingly. She gestured to first her more rotund sister and then to the smallest, "This is Sandy," Sandy nodded curtly, "and Mindy." Mindy smiled soothingly.

"We're not here to hurt you, Dream-child." Sandy declared.

"We're here to save you." Mindy finished, still with her hands up showing she meant no harm.

Tidus's eyes widened as his memories of the three women came back. He had seen them only once, but like with all of the Fayth; it had left an impression upon him. He bowed his head slightly to three of the beings that were responsible for his existence. "Sorry." He apologized as he straightened from his battle crouch and banished his sword.

"We have need of your assistance." Cindy said carefully.

"It is very important." Mindy added.

Tidus looked around his paradise and nodded. He didn't care what they wanted him to do, as long as it involved somewhere less boring. "What do you need me for?"

"You will see. You are to become a dream in the real world again, is that what you wish?" Cindy asked.

"Yes!" Tidus pumped a fist in the air in time with his cheer, "Will I get to see Yuna and the others?" He asked immediately.

"I'm afraid I… do not know. If you do, it will not be for a very long while." Cindy replied. She looked hesitantly at her two younger sisters to see if they had any inkling of an answer to his question.

"Bahamut does not tell us much." Mindy admitted.

"We just know that you are to become someone else's dream, so you can leave here." Sandy added.

Tidus looked around the vast fields that he had all to himself. His Father, Auron, Braska, and many others were around somewhere. But mostly, they all went off on their own to deal with the afterlife. It was slightly different for Tidus though, as unlike his father, he hadn't ever really died. He had just… ceased to be.

"There's nothing left for me here. When do I go?"

"Soon. Young Dream. We must wait for the signal."

Tidus groaned loudly; he hated waiting. It had been a proven fact back on Spira that he was less patient than both Wakka and Rikku, possibly put together. "Oh, come on!"

* * *

"Someone who is close, but not too close… Someone who can protect the hero, but not be in the spotlight. Someone no one would ever expect…" Valefor murmured to herself.

"Do you have a plan Valefor?" Anima asked gently.

The frail woman nodded slightly and fingered a strand of her light brown hair, "My plan… is that we wait until we know who's going to be in the spotlight, and then we can choose our guardian."

"Wonderful idea. Vale." Ixion complimented, "We really should have talked things over more before we decided on our course of action."

"I—I know not who the chosen one is, but I do know where he or she will spend a good portion of their lives. So it would make sense to choose a guardian from the same area, would it not? Someone close to the chosen one, but someone everyone will overlook."

"And this is the area?" Ixion asked.

Anime looked around the soaked road and then up at the beacon of warmth and light before them, "Yes. This will be a home to the Chosen One. We will choose someone from within to bear our dream."

"And you are certain?" Ixion pressed.

"As certain as I can be. Yes." Anima replied.

"Here it is then." Ixion decided, as if it was his decision to make.

"Valefor, send for the sisters and the dream. Ixion, keep watch out here. I'm going inside to find a vessel."

Valefor nodded and vanished in a flash of light while Ixion just shifted his weight and crossed his arms to wait. Anime gave him a swift nod and entered the future home of the Chosen One.

* * *

Bahamut wasn't above manipulating people. He wasn't above putting commands into their heads to make them do something. He also wasn't above messing with the dimensions of time to do so. Time held no meaning to an immortal being of extreme power. That was why he sat in a bar, one year and eight months into the past from where he was an hour ago. He was watching a bug eyed woman who was draped in shawls, talk to an elderly man with a beard so long it was tucked into his belt.

He focused closer on the woman, and with a twitch of his mind, possessed her.

Across the room Albus Dumbledore was trying not to wince at the obvious fake before him. When he had put the wanted add out for a new Divinations Professor, he had expected to get some crazies, but this woman was the top of the list.

The woman was in the middle of telling him about how she was so sorry that one of his students were going to die, when she suddenly stiffened, her voice lost its airy quality and seemed to come out hollow, emotionless, and much deeper.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

Albus looked on in shock as his swift, intelligent mind began putting the pieces together. For starters, this woman had just told a prophecy; a real one. Also, if he went by the look on her face, and the fact that she was continuing where she had left off before the prophecy, she had no idea.

Albus nodded silently to himself, "Professor Trelawney? You're hired."

Bahamut smiled to himself and left the pub the same way he had entered.

No one noticed.

* * *

"What I want to know," Ifrit griped, "Is why tonight? The prisoners have obviously been here for longer than just today, so why free them tonight? Why is it so special?"

"The barriers between worlds are thinnest once a year on this day. That is how it is possible for us to be here without wasting an enormous amount of energy." Shiva explained tiredly. He had asked the same questions three times since they had invisibly entered the manor a few minutes prior.

"I'll not be the one to question Bahamut's orders." Yojimbo stated boldly, "Has he ever led us astray before?"

"Well, no." Ifrit admitted, "Hey! I am in charge! Do not question me!"

Shiva would have rolled her eyes if such an action wasn't so far beneath her.

"Up ahead." Yojimbo said. "There are no guards by the cells."

"Suspicious…" Shiva murmured.

"No. I don't believe this is a coincidence. For some reason, the guards are elsewhere, and that is why we are to free the prisoners right now." Ifrit said seriously.

"Right."

Shiva moved to the cell door and had it unlocked within seconds. Yojimbo took the lead, as he was their combat specialist. The samurai was a master of the sword. "Clear." He said after a moment. Shiva entered, followed closely by Ifrit. The blue haired woman started towards the cells, while Ifrit guarded the door and Yojimbo stalked around the room making sure no one was around.

"You're free now." Shiva said to the prisoners in the cell as the door swung open of its own accord. Or seemingly, at any rate, as the prisoners could not see or hear her.

The prisoners jumped to their feet as their cell door opened and it didn't take them long to leave the cell. There were fifteen of them, six females and nine males, three of which were children.

"That way." Ifrit ordered. The message was sent into the subconscious of the healthiest man among the prisoners.

"I will follow them out and make sure no harm befalls them." Yojimbo offered.

"Good." Ifrit agreed. "Shiva, you are with me. I want to know what the guards are up to and why they are no where to be found."

"Of course." Shiva responded. She watched Yojimbo follow the freed prisoners until she could no longer see him anymore, "Let us go."

Six hours later, the only sign that there had been a storm was the branches strung across the wet road and the faint smell of ozone in the air. The Ten Aeons once again stood outside the manor, though this time, the Manor was in ruins. There were bits of fire here and there among the rubble of the once glorious mansion, along with the occasional half buried body. All was silent save for the faint crackling of flame against centuries old wood. The sky, once a cloud of black, was crystal clear allowing the stars to light the way.

"It's done."Anima stated calmly. "We have chosen our avatar, and the process is complete. Our dream is no longer our own."

"How is the dream-child?" Shiva asked.

"He is well. Confused, but well. He knows who he is supposed to protect, though only at a subconscious level. I could not rewrite the vessels soul into that of our dream, so in a sense; it is one body housing two people."

"Who's body?" Bahamut asked seriously.

"That… is hard to explain. It is our dream's body, merged with the boy who hosts him. In time, the dream will overtake reality, and his body will evolve into what it once was."

Valefor nodded and elaborated, "The power that was put into creating our dream overpowered the power of the host tenfold. It's only a matter of time."

"Good." Bahamut murmured, "That's good."

"Will he know?" Yojimbo wondered.

"It's hard to tell at the moment. The Dream knows, yes. But his host is the one in control of the conscious mind at the moment. Until that changes… our dream will only be able to effect the choices of his host on a subconscious level, and perhaps through dreams." Anima replied.

"So, it's only a matter of time…" Ifrit said. "Let us hope this works. Another Sin is something none of us want to see come to fruit."

"Agreed." Bahamut said.

"And now we wait." Ixion murmured.

"And now we wait." Anima confirmed.

They had all the time in the world. Even if the rest of the world didn't.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy 10.

Chapter One.

"Here Harry."

Harry blinked away the spots in his eyes from the hallway light and looked up at the boy who had interrupted his sleep. He hadn't come at midnight, so Harry had assumed he wasn't going to come at all. Sometimes he didn't.

The basket was pushed in front of Harry's face again and the small boy squinted his eyes in an attempt to make out what was within it. His awakener huffed in impatience and moved around Harry into his cupboard. A moment later, a hand placed Harry's glasses on his face, and the four year old was able to see again.

"Sorry I'm late." His awakener apologized.

"It's okay." Harry reassured quickly. He smiled widely, "I thought you had forgotten about me…"

"Never, Harry. Never ever."

Harry smiled again and took the basket from his night-time friend. It was filled with the leftovers from dinner that his aunt had thrown away rather than giving to him. Harry knew he didn't deserve to eat the good people's food, but he was thankful that his night-time friend cared enough to bring it to him anyway. Harry never felt good when his belly was empty.

"You's sorry." Harry said with a smile right as his friend had been about to open his mouth.

"I suppose you know me a bit too well, Harry." His friend agreed amiably. "I am sorry though, that I can't do more. The Dursleys are awful people, and you deserve better."

Harry placed a tiny hand on his friends shoulder, "You do too, Dudley. You do too."

Eight year old Harry Potter winced as the fist came bearing down at him, he held his breath and braced himself only for the fist to skim past his head at the last moment and hit the brick wall behind him at full force. Even as the bully began to scream in pain, Harry met his eyes and saw the carefully hidden shame.

Harry took this time to escape his wailing cousin's grasp. He ducked past the slightly taller boy and didn't stop running until he was deep in the forest past the park. Harry was only slightly out of breath from the long run, as he had had years of practice running from his cousin and his cousins friends.

Harry had learned early on out of necessity how to be constantly aware of his surroundings and to never be predictable in his hiding places. His cousin had an almost uncanny ability to find him and keep up with him when he found him, so it was always a challenge to get away.

It made Harry really wish sometimes that Dudley took after his father more in the weight department. Unfortunately, Dudley was probably the most fit kid in their entire school from all the sports he had insisted to be in. Although, on the plus side, because of Dudley, Harry was also in a few sports, because Dudley hadn't wanted to go alone, and his friends were not interested.

Dudley, Harry thought as he walked through the thick foliage, was strange. He contradicted himself at nearly every turn, and did things that often made no sense. Harry was quite sure that his slightly older cousin had split personalities. One of those personalities, Harry had become quite attached to. It was his best friend, but he had been showing up less and less in the last couple of months. The other… was the one who had just tried to beat him up. Harry wasn't as fond of that personality.

Nine year old Harry Potter winced as their Sensei walked towards them. He quickly clambered to his feet and stood with his posture straight, or defined, as his sensei called it. Beside him, his Cousin did the same, though with a grace that Harry was secretly a little more than jealous of.

"Potter." Their Sensei barked out in a heavily Japanese accented voice.

"Sensei!" Harry called out in reply.

"Dursley!" Their Sensei called out next.

"Sensei!" Dudley called out.

"Seiyunchin." Their Sensei demanded.

"Hai!" Both cousins instantly started going through the motions of the Tiger Kata.

Harry watched his cousin out of the corner of his eye, and found himself once again jealous. The older boy had such grace and speed to his movements; it was as if the blond had been born with them. Harry felt like he was working twice as hard as his cousin and yet, not getting as good of results. It wasn't fair.

"Potter, pay attention!"

Harry jumped at the intrusion to his thoughts and immediately went back to his Kata. "Hai!"

Ten year old Harry Potter glanced at his cousin. The slightly older boy was sitting on the front porch; he looked as if he was fighting with himself over something. Harry watched the usually confident boy pick at the grass beside the step. Harry carefully closed the door behind him and moved closer to the blond. It was strange, as normally when he saw his cousin, he would take off in the opposite direction. "Dudley?"

Dudley looked up and nearly jumped a foot in shock, "Harry, I didn't see you there."

Harry's eyes widened. Dudley hadn't called him by his name in months, could that mean…? "Wh—what's wrong?"

Dudley sighed, "Something happened. I don't know what to do."

"…Dudley?" Harry asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah. It's me. Sorry I've been gone for so long." Dudley replied with a weak smile.

"It's okay." Harry reassured. "What's happened?"

"…I got a letter today."

Harry wasn't sure what to say. He never got letters, so he wasn't sure why it had shaken his cousin so much. Harry sat down gingerly on the step beside his cousin and asked hesitantly, "What did it say?"

"It was an invitation to a school. I want to go… but… I don't want to go. I think—I think you're the only one who can understand what I mean by that."

Harry nodded slightly as he mulled the words over. Finally, he looked up at his cousin and replied, "You want to go, but mean Dudley doesn't?"

"Exactly." Dudley replied sadly. "I sent them a reply already. I told them that I couldn't go right now."

"Maybe you can go someday then?" Harry, ever the optimist pointed out.

"Maybe someday…" Dudley agreed wistfully.

The change was visible, and Harry was off the step and halfway down the driveway when his cousin suddenly jerked as if coming out of a deep sleep, "Hey Freak, if you're running away, make sure you don't come back!"

Harry just sighed as he continued walking to the park. Yes, he thought. Dudley was definitely strange.

"Wake up cousin! We're going to the Zoo!"

Harry pulled the string for his light and winced as bits of dust fluttered into his eyes. He heard the light footsteps of his cousin walk past his door, followed a second later by the far too heavy footfalls of his uncle.

The door to his cupboard was pulled open and he was pulled harshly through the opening. Harry blinked at the bright hallway light and adjusted his glasses so he could see clearer.

"Get started on breakfast Boy, and make sure not to burn anything. I want everything perfect for Dudley's special day."

Harry sighed and moved past his tall, horse necked aunt. Idly, he wondered, not for the first time, if Dudley was adopted. He looked very little like ether of his parents, besides the fact that his hair was blond, and even that was much brighter than the badly dyed blond of his mother. And hey, while he was on the subject, maybe Harry wasn't related to them ether, and had accidentally been given to the wrong family!

"Boy! Bring me my coffee."

"Yes Uncle Vernon." Harry replied. He carefully brought his uncle his coffee and went back to cooking.

From the living room, he heard mean Dudley shouting, "But last year! Last year I had thirty seven!"

He heard his aunt simper up to the boy, "Well, this is what we're going to do. We're going to go downtown, and buy you two new presents, how's that pumpkin?"

Harry sighed and turned back to the bacon he was cooking. It amused him how mean Dudley acted. If his parents only knew that the reason he demanded so much from them was because he knew that they had a lot to give… or that out of all of his gifts, he kept maybe ten to himself and gave the rest to charity. They would freak.

Of course, mean Dudley had no idea what happened to most of his gifts, as they always disappeared during the night. Harry knew though, because Dudley's birthday night was one of the few times he got to see his best friend these days.

Dudley had explained it to him on his last birthday. He had told Harry that the reason he came out so often when they were young, is because his will was stronger than mean Dudley's. Now though, mean Dudley had grown enough that his will was stronger than Harry's best friend's. It meant that Harry's Dudley didn't get to come out barely at all.

"Boy, hurry it up!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia." Harry replied automatically.

Harry had turned eleven only moments before the door was suddenly knocked off of its hinges. A large, no, gargantuan, man walked through. He put the door back up where it was supposed to be and gave the equivalent of a sheepish shrug. Though on a man as large as him, it just looked terrifying. "Sorry bout that."

"I demand that you leave here a-at once!" Uncle Vernon demanded.

The large man glared, "Oh dry up Dursley you great prune. Well, I haven't seen you since you was a baby Harry, but yer lookin good. Yer color's much different then I remember though."

"I'm not Harry." Dudley said with a hint of distaste. Very little fear though, unlike what Harry was feeling when he looked upon the huge man.

"I—I am." Harry cut in. He stepped out from his hiding place so that he was just behind his cousin.

"Ahh. A course ye are." The large man amended. "I brought ye something. Fraid I may 'ave sat on it at one point, but I imagine it'll taste fine all the same. Baked it myself, words and all." Out of his jacket, the large man pulled a large pink frosted cake with the words Harry Potter on the middle in green frosting.

"Thank you…" Harry said gratefully. He moved so that he was standing beside his cousin instead of behind him, but still made no move to take the cake from the man.

"We'll its not everyday yer young man turns eleven, now is it?"

Harry glanced at his relatives, his aunt looked as if she had swallowed something sour, her arms were crossed defiantly and her posture was rigid. His uncle on the other hand, was turning an alarming shade of purple, and his foot was tapping to the floor in time with the angry twitching of his right eye. Dudley was just standing in front of the large man with a skeptical look on his face.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Harry asked.

The man moved further into the hut and over to the fireplace. His large frame hid what he was doing from view, but a second later, a large fire had been started. The man turned around, "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Course, you know all about Hogwarts."

Harry noticed his cousin go stiff at the name but shook his head, "No, sorry."

"No?" The man repeated in shock, "Harry, didn't you ever wonder where your mum and dad learned it?"

Harry shrugged slightly, "Learned what?"

That was when Harry found out that he was a wizard.

Harry felt the cold, clammy hands of his traitor professor push him in front of the Mirror of Erised. "Now, tell me what you see. What is it? What do you see?"

Harry looked into the mirror and saw the same thing he saw the last time. He and Dudley were grinning with their arms thrown brotherly over each other's shoulders. His mother was behind them to their right, and his Father was behind them to their left. The reason he was so enamored with the mirror was because until he had seen it, he hadn't even known what his parents had looked like.

"..I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore. We've just won the house cup!" he lied. There was no way he would mention his cousin to someone who had been trying to kill him all year.

"He lies." The voice from the back of Professor Quirrell's head hissed.

Quirrell glared at Harry and dug his hands into his shoulders, "Tell the truth! What do you see?"

"Let me see him."

Quirrell froze and then whispered to himself, "No, Master, you're not strong enough!"

"I'm strong enough for this."

Harry finally got to meet the monster who had killed his parents.

"Here Harry."

Harry looked up from the photo-album on his desk at the sound of the voice. Dudley was standing in his doorway with a basket of food. "Hullo Dudley."

"I'm sorry." Dudley apologized about the multitude of locks on Harry's door, "I tried to get myself to talk sense into the Dursley's, but I couldn't manage it. It's getting harder and harder for me to—to be here at all."

Harry closed his photo-album and looked as his best friend in concern. He asked, "Are you okay though?"

Dudley sat down on his cousin's poor excuse for a bead and sighed tiredly, "I'll be fine, Harry. It's just hard, watching my body do things that I have no control over. Though, even as it's getting harder to take control, it's also getting easier. As in, when I do get control, I have it for longer periods of time."

"Does mean Dudley see out of your eyes when you're in control?"

"No." Dudley replied. "He's sleeping. It's why I'm better at taking control at night, that way he doesn't know about me."

"Oh."

"So, you're a wizard then." Dudley commented idly.

"Yeah. It's wonderful, Dudley. You would love Hogwarts. I wish you could be there too."

Dudley grinned, "Maybe someday I will be."

"The letter!" Harry said, perhaps a bit louder than he should have. They both went silent to make sure the Dursley's hadn't woken up. When it was clear that they hadn't, Harry spoke again, this time in an excited whisper, "You're a wizard too, aren't you!"

Dudley nodded with a small smile.

"Well, I'll leave you my first year books under the floorboards when I go back to school. That way, even if you can't do the spells yet, when you eventually get a wand, you'll know how." Harry said.

Dudley smiled with excitement that matched his cousin, "Thank you, Harry."

"How was your year?" Harry asked.

"It was good. I managed to become Captain, and star player, might I add, of the Smeltings Water Polo team. Apparently it's huge news for a first year to go up the rankings so fast. The school itself is terrible though, I never thought there would be a school that actually encourages bullying." Dudley shook his head slightly, "What about you? How was your year?"

"Well, I made some new friends. Ron and Hermione. Ron's brilliant at Chess, and Hermione's brilliant at well, everything, really. The school work itself leaves a little to be desired, I mean, learning magic is brilliant, it really is, but everything is really backwards. Wizards think that they're superior to Muggles, or non-magic folk, when in reality, Muggles would have no problem taking down Wizards. The Wizards whole system is very medieval. I mean, they use quills and ink to write, and they write on parchment instead of paper!"

Dudley suddenly stood up with wide eyes, "I have to go!"

Harry nodded in understanding and quickly opened the door for his cousin. He heard the sound of the locks snapping back into place followed by the light footsteps of his cousin running across the hallway back to his own room. Sometimes, no, all the time, Harry really wished that his best friend would be able to over power mean Dudley.

A week later, when the Weasley boys came to pick Harry up in the middle of the night with their dads flying car, Harry's eyes stayed locked on the figure sitting outside on the front steps. Dudley watched him escape his prison with a sad smile, and Harry couldn't help but wish that they could have taken him too.

Harry looked down at the petrified form of the only female friend he had ever had. "I wish- I wish that the stories Dudley used to tell me when we were little were true. Although, I'm not sure I'd know what a Soft was, even if it was directly in front of me."

"Or the spell Esuna. He said that that was the most helpful spell for a white mage to know, especially on Mount Gagazet. I don't know why I'm talking about this, they were just stories my cousin made up when we were little. I looked up Mount Gagazet in an Atlas, but it doesn't exist. My cousin has some imagination though, his stories were always so detailed. I've never told anyone about him before, because, because I'm afraid that there's something wrong with him, and if I tell anyone, they'll take him away from me."

Harry sighed and leaned on his hands, "You need to get better Hermione. We're hopeless without you, Ron and I. We really are."

"So you fought a Basilisk?" Dudley asked incredulously, "And you're twelve? There was a basilisk in your school?"

"Yeah. It was scary." Harry shuddered slightly. He kicked his feet slightly to get the swing to move, and smiled as his cousin did the same.

"Did you remember my stories about the Basilisks? Or about how you have to avoid looking them in the eyes?"

"Yeah. How did you know that anyway?"

Dudley stopped swinging, "I—I don't know Harry. I know things, lots of things that my other self doesn't know. I just don't know… how I know these things though. A lot of the things I know aren't even true—so I don't know why I feel like they are."

"I wish there was something I could do to help you…"

"Stay safe. It helps me more than you'd know." Dudley replied. "I'm the older cousin; it's my job to protect you."

Harry smiled at that. His cousin had always protected him, which was strange, as his cousin was also the person he had had to run from the most. His smile dimmed slightly when he told his cousin the rest of his news, "You know how we discovered that I can talk to snakes? Back on your birthday at the Zoo?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Dudley asked.

"Apparently, when Voldemort tried to kill me after killing my parents, some of his power transferred over to me. I'm a dark wizard."

"Harry… Power is just power. There is no evil or good, it's all in the intent. I mean, the so called light spells can kill just as easily as the so called dark ones. If you don't use the abilities given to you for evil, then you're not evil."

Harry smiled and felt as if a burden had been released off of his shoulders. Hearing it from Dumbledore had made him feel slightly better, but Dudley had always been the one he went to for advice. "Thanks Dudley."

Dudley shifted slightly and sighed.

Harry recognized the signs and sighed, "How much longer do you have?"

"About fifteen minutes." Dudley replied quietly, "We should be heading back."

"Yeah."

"Vernon's sister Marge is getting here tomorrow, be careful not to set her off Harry. Her dogs are dangerous, and, well, after I used so much energy to take over tonight, I doubt I'll be able to do anything to help you."

"It's okay. I'll be fine."

The next day Harry lost his temper and his Aunt Marge was blown up like a balloon. After the Wizards brought her back, they erased hers and the Dursley's memories of the incident. Mean Dudley forgot, but Harry's Dudley didn't.

He was happy that his cousin was learning how to protect himself.

"Harry, after this is all over…" Sirius gestured to the stunned forms of Snape, along with Pettigrew, "Would you like to come live with me? I mean, I'd understand if you didn't, if you wanted to stay with your family, but—"

"I'd love to come live with you Sirius." Harry cut him off with a wide smile. Inwardly, he felt sick at the guilt that filled him just at the thought of leaving his cousin.

"Brilliant." Sirius said. He glanced over at Ron and Hermione who were talking quietly, "I'm sorry about your friend's leg."

"It's okay, Sirius. He knows you didn't mean to hurt him." Harry said. He stared off into the distance and imagined what it would be like if he and Dudley both lived with Sirius. It would be wonderful.

"What are you thinking about?"

Harry looked at his godfather contemplatively and then glanced over at his friends to make sure that they weren't listening, "My cousin. He's, well, he and I are good friends. Brothers really. He's a wizard too, but he didn't come to Hogwarts because he was afraid that his parents would think he was a freak. They don't like magic, you see. I was just wondering if you and he would get along."

"We'll have to see." Sirius replied, "Maybe he can come visit us over the summer?"

"That'd be brilliant Sirius, but I- I don't know if he'd want to. He's—kind of strange."

Of course, Harry never got to test it, as Sirius was never proven innocent because Peter Pettigrew got away.

"You're godfather's a mass murderer?"

"He's innocent." Harry argued instantly, "He was framed by another man named Peter Pettigrew."

Dudley's smile wavered slightly, "When he eventually gets proven innocent… are you- are you going to move in with him?"

Harry was about to say yes, when he saw the fragile smile on his cousin's face, "Maybe… I mean, I don't know."

"It's fine, if you do. All right?" Dudley said. "I'll be okay here."

"You shouldn't have to be! It isn't fair." Harry argued, "You should be at Hogwarts, with me."

Dudley smiled slightly, "Maybe someday."

"You always say that." Harry whined.

"You're going to be fourteen at midnight." Dudley changed the subject. They both looked over at the clock on the wall, "Another ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, the clock struck twelve and Dudley cut himself off from telling Harry about how their Sensei always asked about him. He handed Harry an envelope, "Happy Birthday Harry."

Harry looked at the envelope questioningly, "Can I open it now?"

Dudley nodded, "Yeah. Go ahead."

Harry opened the envelope carefully and smiled when he saw the interior. Inside were twenty four pictures, all of which Dudley had taken over the years with a camera he had bought with the money his Aunt Mage had given him when he was four. Every picture was of Harry and Dudley, though most of the pictures were from when they were eight and younger, back when Dudley had been able to take control more often.

"Dudley… wow, these are brilliant. Thank you!" Harry said. He then shot his cousin an amused look, "I can't believe it's taken you seven years to get these developed!"

Dudley scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile, "I got held up."

A group of owls started tapping on the window and Harry hurried over to let them in. Dudley watched him open his gifts and smiled when his face lit up at reading one of the letters. "The Weasleys are coming to get me early this year; apparently we're going to the Quidditch world cup!" Harry wasn't able to contain his excitement.

Dudley laughed quietly, "You'll have to tell me all about it next summer."

"I will." Harry promised.

"Harry, we need to figure out how you'll do the next task."

Harry looked up from the book on possession that he was skimming through, "What about it Hermione?"

"Harry!" She all but screeched, "Take this more seriously!"

"No, no. Its okay, Hermione. I already know what I'm going to do for this one."

"You—wait. What?"

"I have to go to the bottom of the lake to get something I'll miss, right? I'll just hold my breath. The task is only an hour long, it'll be easy."

"Harry… you can't possibly hold your breath that long." She said as if she was talking to a small child.

"Yes I can." Harry insisted stubbornly. "Me and- " He caught himself just in time. Dudley had made him promise not to tell anyone about him as Harry knew him. He was afraid that he would be put in a nut house. The only reason he had even mentioned his cousin to Sirius, is because eventually, he was planning on asking his godfathers help to help Dudley. "-a kid from school were partners on the after school water polo team. We taught ourselves how to hold our breaths for really long periods of time. Although, I think in hindsight that it may have had something to do with my magic, why I was able to- but the ability never went away."

"Really?" Hermione asked, "You were on the water polo team?"

"I was also in Karate, and football. My cousin, I mentioned him before right? Well, he wanted to go but he didn't want to go alone, so I was dragged along."

"I always got the impression that your cousin was lazy." Hermione mentioned.

"No. He's probably the fittest person I know." Harry replied. He managed to almost completely erase the jealousy he felt from his voice, but by her look, Hermione still caught it.

"So how long can you hold your breath for at one time?"

"Well, my best personal record was three hours." Harry replied honestly. Of course, as far as they knew, Dudley could stay underwater for almost as long as he wanted, so Harry's record wasn't all that great in the grand scheme of things.

"Hey Big D." Harry called out insultingly.

Mean Dudley turned on his heel and shifted into a stance Harry recognized as the beginning form of the Dragon Kata. His arms dropped back down to his sides a moment later and he grunted, "Oh, it's you."

"How long have you been Big D then?" Harry asked with a mocking smile. He hated mean Dudley, absolutely hated him.

"Shut it." Mean Dudley demanded, turning away.

"It's a cool name." Harry said insultingly as he fell in to step with his still taller cousin. "But you'll always be Ickle Diddykins to me."

Mean Dudley sputtered angrily and spun around to face his cousin, "I said shut it!"

"Don't your friends know that that's what your mum calls you?"

"Shut your face!" Mean Dudley snarled. His hands began to clench and unclench with anger, though it was clear to Harry that the blond was afraid to attack him. He was terrified that Harry would use magic on him.

"You don't tell her to shut up. What about the other names she calls you? Pumpkin, Diddydums? Can I use those too?"

Dudley's strong jaw was twitching with anger, and Harry felt a perverse sense of justice that he was siphoning off his own frustration onto the blond. Besides, if Dudley was watching, he'd probably be getting a kick out of it too. Dudley had come out the week before, and Harry had told him everything that had happened in the horrible past year. Dudley had been furious about what his schoolmates had put him through, but in the end, he had managed to make Harry realize that none of what had happened was his fault. Unfortunately, because of how long the talk had taken, and how long Dudley had possessed mean Dudley's body, it also meant that Harry would most likely not be seeing his cousin again till next summer.

As they continued their walk home, mocking one another all the way, it got to the point that mean Dudley took things too far. He mentioned Cedric, and how Harry had been calling out for him at night. And then, he had mocked Harry for it.

Harry pulled out his want and pointed it at his cousin, who immediately looked terrified.

"Get that thing out of my face!" He demanded.

Harry was using every ounce of his willpower not to attack his cousin, because if he attacked Mean Dudley, he was also attacking Dudley, which is something he would _not _do. The night started to grow cold around them, and for a painstaking moment, Harry thought that he had cast magic without meaning to.

The sky went black as the stars seemed to blink out one by one, and beside him, he could hear mean Dudley's breaths coming out in great puffs of air. It suddenly felt as if nothing would ever be right again, as if all the happiness in the world had been sucked away, leaving only this cold, empty feeling.

Dementors. Harry realized distantly. But in Little Whinging?

Beside him, mean Dudley cried out for him to stop doing whatever it was he was doing, and a second later, Harry felt a fist hit the side of his head. His wand flew from his hands as he dropped to the ground. He pulled himself up onto his hands and knees as his eyes watered and head pounded, "You idiot, Dudley!" he yelled.

He grasped for his wand in the darkness blindly and heard mean Dudley's footsteps going away from him. He heard mean Dudley run into the alley wall, followed by a horrible squelching noise before he couldn't hear mean Dudley anymore.

He managed to get his wand back in his hands, though if asked later, he wouldn't be able to explain how he had done it. He was so desperate to help his cousin. "Expecto Patronum!"

A small mist of light pushed against the Dementor that was targeting him, but it hadn't worked properly. Probably due to his overwhelming fear for his cousin. He saw the pale, slimy, hands grasping for him. A rushing noise filled his ears, the kind that only happens when you're so overwhelmed with fear and panic that you're thoughts are silent and everything is moving far too fast for you to comprehend.

"Expecto Patronum!" He tried again. His voice sounded distant to his own ears, and again, it only produced a small wisp of silver light.

He felt the Dementor getting closer and closer to him and found himself getting more and more frantic. Distantly, he wondered what death would be like, and if he would see Dudley on the other side.

_No_. That wouldn't happen. He wouldn't let it.

"Expecto Patronum!" He shouted.

A beautiful stag materialized from the silver mist, and the Dementor screeched as it was driven away. Harry looked around the alleyway frantically for his cousin, and what he saw made his heart stop in his chest. He saw the lips of the Dementor meet the lips of his cousin, and a second later, his cousin dropped to the ground, completely lifeless.

Harry vaguely noticed his Stag Patronis chasing the rest of the Dementors away as he rushed to where his cousin lay unmoving on the pavement. He didn't notice as the stars flickered back in to place one by one, or as all sound returned to the alley. All he noticed was his cousin, unmoving before him.

"Dudley?" He whispered as all adrenaline left him. He dropped to his knees on the ground next to his cousin and laid his hands on the blonde's unmoving chest. He heard the sound of footsteps running into the alley but didn't pull his eyes away from his cousin. "…Dudley?"

Dudley Dursley was dead.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy 10.

A/N: Okay, forgive me. I am not British, I have never been to England, and I have no idea how to write a convincing British accent. I'll try my best, but forgive me if it doesn't go over well.

Chapter Two

* * *

Panic. Pure, unadulterated, panic. Harry gripped his cousin's lifeless wrist, searching, _praying_, for a pulse. The wind was warm around him and the footsteps he had heard were getting louder, but he paid no attention to little things like that. _Breath_, he thought; _don't leave me Dudley, please, don't leave me._

Harry felt his mind wander as tears of helplessness and grief started to pour down his face.

"_It was both wonderful, and horrifying. Power like that, held within such a small frame. It was unnatural, it was breathtaking, and it was so pure. I had seen nothing like it before in my seventeen years of life. She was absolutely beautiful."_

"_But you's only five, Dudley." Harry protested._

_Dudley shook his head and shot Harry an amused smile, "It's __**my**__ story, Harry."_

"_Sorry, keep going."_

"_Right." Dudley nodded and continued, "the beautiful woman, or teen really, for she was only a couple months younger than myself. She cast about for something to do, her Summon was fighting the monstrous Sin Spawn, but her Guardians had all fallen. I too had fallen, though I was still conscious. I watched her face fall as she realized that there was no way her Summon would be able to defeat the fiend on its own, but what could she do about it? All of us Guardians had fallen to give her time to Summon."_

"_I know, I know!" Harry cut in excitedly, "She could heal her Guardians. The beautiful woman always makes everybody better, right?"_

"_Right you are, Harry. And she did. She let her powerful Bird Summon continue to attack the fiend, while she dropped to her knees next to her nearest Guardian. He was a redheaded man in his late twenties who wore almost all yellow. The Beautiful healer looked him over in an instant and knew instantly what it was she had to do to help him. She held her hands over his head, where the fiend had hit him earlier, and cast Cura…"_

"_**Wa- , I'm here. Stay with me." The healer murmured soothingly. She held her hands over his head an inch away from his torn flesh, "Cura." A warm white glow with hints of green and blue swirls appeared from her hands and sunk into the man's skin. When she pulled her hands away a minute later, all that was left was smooth, unblemished skin.**_

_**The man blinked open his eyes and then blinked them again to clear the haze, "Y-!" He cried out with a faint accent. "What happened?"**_

_**The healer smiled faintly, "You were knocked out, along with -, and Lu—"**_

"_**Where's Ti-?"**_

"_**Over here." The one who had been observing the scene murmured, "I'm out of potions."**_

_**The healer rushed over to his side and cast Cura. Like before, a warm white glow with tints of blue and green flowed from the palms of her hands to the wound on his stomach, leaving no evidence that he had been hurt just moments before.**_

_**The Bird Summon before them gave a loud cry as the fiend managed to land a brutal hit to it. The Healer winced at the blow and looked at the Summon in concern. "Hang on V-!"**_

"_**Y-! Lu needs ya!" The carrot topped guy proclaimed quickly. "Hurry!"**_

_**The blond was pulled to his feet by the healer and they both rushed over to where the woman dressed in black lay. She was deathly pale and didn't seem to be breathing. The Healer was quick to drop beside her, "Lu-, hold on." She whispered.**_

_**A light, much brighter than the one from her Cura spell, formed above the woman in black, just below the healer's hands. This light was more green than white, and the light almost seemed to form the shape of a feather before it sunk into the black haired woman's body. The woman sat up with a gasp as life rushed into her once again.**_

"_**Thank you, Y-." The woman said gratefully. **_

"_**No problem." The healer replied gently. She moved past the black haired woman and felt, more than saw, the red head pull the woman back to her feet. The healer didn't stop walking until she reached the last two of her downed companions. Before healing them, she glanced back at the fiend and wasn't surprised to see that the black haired woman and the redhead man had already rejoined the fight. The blond however, was still at her side. He was always by her side, protecting her; loving her.**_

"_**Cura!" She cast on both men simultaneously. **_

"Boy, get your wand out! They might still come back!"

Harry recognized the voice of Mrs. Figg, the batty old neighbor that used to babysit him when he was young and the Dursleys hadn't wanted to take him anywhere. He was too numb to care that she seemed to know he was a wizard. He felt her bony hand grip his shoulder, and heard her say something, but his mind blanked it out. He couldn't hear anything, nothing made sense, he just knew he had to do something- and- He shook the woman's hand of his shoulder and bent over his cousin.

_Please_, he thought. _Let this work_. _Let this work_. He cupped his hands over his cousin's yellow clothed chest and allowed his mind to once again drift to his cousin's stories. Stories that had always seemed more like lessons than fairytales.

"_And what does a healer do if the person they are healing is knocked out and their life force fades to zero?"_

_Harry scrunched up his face in concentration and thought back to the story he had just heard, he spoke hesitantly, "If it has been less than ten minutes, and the wound wasn't instantly fatal, like, a stab wound through the heart or a shot to the head, the Healer has a short amount of time to cast the high level white magic spell, Life. Then, depending on how weak the person is after being brought back, the healer may also cast one of the three healing spells, Cure, Cura, or Curaga."_

"_Right Harry. And how do they do that?"_

_Harry cast back to the story again and answered a moment later, "White magic is a force of good will, channeled through a staff or the healer's hands to heal another person. In order to be a competent White Mage, the healer has to know the detailed anatomy of the being they are trying to heal, be it human or animal."_

"_Close, but how would you actually do it?"_

"_You focus your will, and mix it with your pure intentions. Then you guide it out of your body in a steady stream into the wound that you want to heal. You mustn't lose focus at all, or the spell could overbalance and fail, leaving you drained of the magic that you used to cast the spell, but without having actually cast it."_

"_Correct!" Dudley replied proudly. _

Harry shut the memory off and focused for what felt like the first time in his entire life. This was all that mattered, just this moment here. Harry closed his eyes and focused on his Will. He felt his magic swirling around him like it always did when he focused, it was wild and untamable, but there was also a small part that just radiated warm and comfort and purity, which was the part he was drawing on. _Bring him back_, he thought to his magic_. Breath. Don't you die on me_, he ordered.

"Come back to me, come back to me, come back to me, come back to me…"

He felt it when it happened, even if he was too numb and in shock to even realize what he was doing. A brilliant light surrounded him and his cousin, so bright that it startled Mrs. Figg enough that she took a few steps back and gasped. The light continued to grow as Harry repeated his mantra, "Come back to me, come back to me, come back to me…"

When the power was at its highest level only seconds later, Harry reacted by instinct. He placed one hand just over his cousin's head, and the other over his cousin's heart, he then whispered the one word that would change his world forever, _"Life."_

Dudley continued to glow for a good fifty seconds after Harry finished the spell, and then, he sat up and took a gasp of air.

"You're alive, it worked, oh thank Merlin, it worked… it worked…"

Tidus blinked as the unfamiliar boy clung to him and sobbed. Something about the situation sent a pang of… _something_, through him. The boy was small, but wiry and strong with the body of an athlete. He was wearing black sandals, baggy black shorts and a green t-shirt that looked as if it belonged to someone who had a longer torso. He also wore a pair of glasses that covered brilliant green eyes.

Tidus had no idea who he was. He felt his own arms come up and pat the younger boy on the back soothingly, much like he had done for Rikku, when she had broken down after her Home had been destroyed, only this boys tears sounded more thankful than sorrowful.

"Hey, you okay?" Tidus asked uncomfortably.

The boy reared back and his tearful green eyes went wide, "D-dudley?"

Tidus felt dizzy as the name repeated itself inside his head over and over and over. With it brought flashes of memories only half remembered, though each flash was clearer than the last. "Whoa…" Tidus said to himself as his arms gave out on him and he found himself lying on his back once again.

"Dudley!" The boy cried out, this time more firmly.

Tidus looked around from his place on the ground and noticed that they were in a dirty alley. Behind the boy was an elderly woman in what looked like her night clothing. She wore slippers, a white robe, and her hair was half coming out of the hair net she had it in. Around her wrist was the handles of a shopping bag that was dangling by her legs. "Uh, hello there."

The woman glared at him, "Get up you useless tea bag!"

Tidus blinked and then tilted his head in confusion. He had never been called a useless tea bag before. He wasn't even sure what that meant, but he was pretty sure it was supposed to be insulting. He got to his feet unsteadily and wavered as a wave of fatigue hit him with the force of a Chimera. Really, what was his HP at? He didn't feel hurt, but he could feel the faint lingering of a life spell on his skin. It tingled pleasantly, but unfamiliarly. It wasn't Yuna who had brought him back, and he didn't recognize the feel of the magic.

Tidus reached for his item pouch to down a potion only to pause as he patted down his side. _Huh_, he thought. _These aren't my clothing_. The clothing wasn't horrible, not at all, they were just different. Actually, he realized, his outfit was quite similar to the green eyed boy.

Tidus was wearing a tight yellow t-shirt, black baggy knee length shorts, and black sandals. His shorts had pockets, all of which were empty save for some slips of paper he couldn't fathom the need for. "Huh." Tidus murmured. "Strange."

"Dudley, are –are you okay?"

"Sure I am Harry. Don't worry." Tidus replied. He allowed the boy, who his mind told him was named Harry, to steady him as they started walking somewhere that would apparently be safe. Tidus was lost in his thoughts, though he vaguely listened to the old woman talky rather hysterically about something called a Dementor, and a man named Fletcher.

_What was the last thing I remember?_ He thought to himself.

He remembered flowers, and sunlight that never wavered. He remembered peace, and boredom, along with loneliness. Then he remembered the Magus sisters, and his Mission. His mission, right! It was starting to come back to him now, though still only in flashes. He was to be the Guardian to the Chosen One, the one who would be granted the power needed to stop a man from repeating Yu Yevon's Sin.

Tidus looked at the green eyed boy that was walking beside him, and felt a rush of affection for the younger boy. It was similar to how he felt every time he looked at Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, Kimahri, Auron… and Yuna. The boy felt like family.

Suddenly, everything around him stopped. Harry stopped walking mid step and his mouth was still open from being in the middle of speaking. The old woman too was stopped mid step. A leaf was frozen in the air just in front of Tidus's face. Everything was silent and even the air seemed stop its pleasant breeze.

"_Hello."_

Tidus turned and wasn't surprised at all to see Bahamut standing beside him. The boy always seemed to show up just when Tidus was confused the most. Not that the boy ever cleared up any of his confusion, in fact, Tidus recalled that he was almost always _more_ confused after talking to the boy.

"Bahamut." He said.

"_We are sorry for interfering. Things picked up faster than we had thought possible."_

"Interfering? I don't understand." Tidus replied, "Where am I? What's going on? Who is Dudley?"

"_You'll remember in time. Your body is undergoing some changes, but when it's done, you'll remember."_

"If you're not going to answer my questions, why are you here?" Tidus asked angrily.

"_To warn you."_ Bahamut replied sadly, _"You are officially no longer __**our**__ dream. Spira is out of your reach until this is over. Protect him, or it will stay that way. Forever."_

Everything burst into motion and Tidus stumbled as Harry continued to lead him along. Tidus closed his eyes tightly to stop the tears that were trying to escape. He put his trust in Harry to get them where they were going, because there was no way he could make it on his own. As he walked, it felt like his heart was breaking.

"Diddy! What happened? What's the matter with you? Vernon? Vernon!"

Tidus felt bony hands pull him into a house, but he kept his eyes closed. As they had walked, he felt himself growing weaker and weaker, as if he was poisoned. He wasn't poisoned though, which made him even _more_ confused. He hadn't felt this confused since he had woken up in Spira all those months ago, or was it years? He didn't know.

He was sitting down now, and someone was shouting. Everything was starting to feel distant, as if he was underwater.

Everyone was talking around him, they sounded angry, and someone was shaking him. Vaguely, he was reminded of when he and the others had fallen under the Macalania Temple after killing Seymour for the first time.

_He hurt too much to move, let alone open his eyes. In the background, he could hear the faint sounds of Rikku crying, pleading for him or anyone to wake up. He wasn't sure if he wanted to wake. He wasn't sure if he wanted to face what they had done, why they had done it, or what they were going to do next. Tidus was exhausted._

_He was a Blitzball player from Zanarkand, not a Guardian or Traitor of Yevon. He didn't even believe in Yevon! Rikku's cries went up a notch, from terrified to hysterical, and Tidus finally opened his eyes._

In front of him stood a tall horse like woman with a long neck, pale skin, and badly dyed blond hair. She was the one who was shaking him. Behind her, by Harry, stood a very obese man with an angry face and watery, beady, blue eyes. He was gripping Harry's arm in a grip that looked bruising, and every couple of moments he would shake the smaller boy. A bird of some sort was flying above everyone's head and it seemed to be making the obese man even angrier.

"Wh—what's going—" Tidus tried to ask, but the words wouldn't come out. The room was swaying, and the woman's voice rose to a painful pitch that had Tidus instinctively covering his ears.

Everything became more and more indistinct, and then Tidus knew no more.


End file.
